John left this comment regarding my maid posting: “escape out the roof at midnight to ‘hang out’ with the construction workers” 🙂 seems like you’re turning into an old fart. I guess I may as well come out with the full story of this one. It’s Friday and there’s nothing better to talk about at the moment. My next door neighbor has two maids: one about 17 years old, cute but knows it, and one a couple years older andRead more
Posts tagged: #Culture Clash
Western Men, Indonesian Women.
Thang D. Nguyen has written an interesting post and subsequent discussion in regards to Western men and Indonesian women. I’ll leave my own thoughts out of this one, but would be interested in hearing how Indonesian women feel after reading this. Here’s an excerpt from his post: As my friend and I sipped our coffees last Sunday afternoon at Plaza Indonesia, he asked, “Don’t you think that many of the Indonesian women that white foreigners (buleh) go out with orRead more
Quarter Life Crisis: Part One (Life as an Expat)
So begins a new phase in my life. My Quarter Life Crisis has officially commenced. I suppose a good way to deal with this is with some introspection, reflection, and a good round of bullsh*ting about whatever spills out of this confused mind. Without further ado, let the rambling begin. Life as an expat moves through a number of phases. There’s the initial, “Wow, it’s so different and interesting!†first few months of bliss with our newfound relationship with aRead more
Stalking Leopards
I was contacted by a reporter for the International Herald Tribune last week. She had come across my blog and asked if I’d compose an article for publication. The focus of the article was to convey expat experiences with having guests stay with you, “quirky, extreme, or unexpected stories”. So, for better or worse, here’s one of those stories I wouldn’t usually share! Jakarta. Famous for political strife, bird flu, and harboring terrorist cells, it’s also the gateway to Indonesia.Read more
Black Magic and a Brat's Holiday Remorse
I’m experiencing a bit of holiday remorse. Four weeks in Bali was almost too much of a good thing. In fact we changed our tickets and returned 5 days early to Jakarta (DOH!). That plan bit me in the ass for reasons I won’t go into at the moment. I’m coming to the conclusion that perhaps 1-2 weeks of an amazing holiday would be more worthwhile than four weeks of moderation. This is not an invitation to receive criticisms forRead more
You Can't Title a Post Like This
So I’m in the grocery store with Novita looking for hand sanitizer. I find the proper aisle, and am surprised by the variety of shapes and colors offered for hand cleaner; usually it’s just a small square boring bottle. These bottles were curvy and fit the hand very well. Pleased with my selection, I’m joined by Novita: “What are you doing?”, as she inspects the label. “Buying hand sanitizer.” “That’s not for cleaning your hands!”, with a devilish grin. “WhatRead more